Vehicle drive-thru bays have become very popular in recent years. They are used by restaurants, laundries, banks, grocery stores and other businesses to provide improved service to the public. Drive-thru bays are also used by government agencies for highway toll collections, bridge tolls, immigration inspections, customs inspection and access to secure facilities. The people who serve the public in these drive-thru bays are exposed to heat and exhaust gases from vehicles passing through the bays. These exhaust gases and the heat from vehicles cause discomfort, entrain particulate matter and dirt, and include objectionable constituents such as carbon monoxide, lead, sulfuric acid, nitrates and other products of combustion.
Systems that remove exhaust gases, from vehicles running in service bays, are well known. These systems have a pipe that is connected directly to the vehicle exhaust system discharge. A blower in the system has its intake connected to the system pipe that is connected to the vehicle. The blower discharge pipe discharges exhaust gases at a location some distance from the service bay and usually outside the building housing the service bay. Such systems are used only where the vehicle that is being serviced will remain in the service bay for a substantial period of time and the engine will run during a portion of the service work. The heat from the radiator and vehicle exhaust system leaks are not sucked into the blower inlet.
Bays for large vehicles such as railway engines are usually equipped with a hood and blower system above the engine or a slot in the roof for the passage of exhaust gases. Both systems work relatively well. The vehicle exhaust discharge is vertically upward. A large volume of hot gases generally continues to move upward through a slot in the roof or into an overhead hood where it is picked up by a blower. The blower blows the exhaust through a conduit and discharges the exhaust outside the building.
Drive-thru bays at drive-in restaurants, laundries, banks, grocery stores, highway toll booths, immigration inspection stations, customs inspection stations, security check stations at secure facilities and other similar facilities generally rely upon wind and atmospheric conditions to disperse hot gases and engine exhaust gases. On a windy day exhaust gases are generally blown away quickly. On some occasions, the wind may blow exhaust gases and hot air into the area where people are working adjacent to drive-thru bays and into vehicles in bays with windows down while making their transactions.
There are periods of time when wind and atmospheric conditions do not dissipate heat and exhaust gases from a drive-thru bay. During these periods people that are required to work adjacent to drive-thru bays may be exposed to dust, airborne particulate material and vehicle exhaust gases. This exposure can cause discomfort and may over time cause adverse health problems.